“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Prov. 29:18)

Without clear vision and imagination people wander aimlessly, lacking direction and purpose. You have to have it!

What is it?

Vision is defined in the dictionary as the act or power of imagination; a mode of seeing or conceiving; and/or unusual discernment or foresight. Vision means seeing things with your imagination. If you think about it, everything you see that is made started with an idea or dream in someone’s mind; they had to imagine it before they could create it.

Michelangelo used creative vision

He famously said: “In every block of marble, I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.” And on commenting about his incredible statue of David, he said, “I created a vision of David in my mind and simply carved away everything that was not David.” In other words, he saw each completed task in his head before he even started the project he was about to do. After carving a beautiful statue of an angel, he said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” 

“And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” (Habak. 2:2-3)

How to start

Focus your imagination on virtuous and positive aspects of life and direct your thoughts toward things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy. By doing so, your imagination can foster a mindset of positivity and creativity.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Phil. 4:8)

Therefore

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” (Eph. 1:17-18 ESV)

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phil. 4:6)

 Jesus explained what not to worry about

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 Therefore

 “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

“Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.” (Psalm 119:165)

“Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” (3 John 1:2)

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases.” (Psalms 103:2-3 NKJV)

“For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord.” (Jer. 30:17 NKJV)

Therefore

“The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.” (Psalm 41:3)

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16)

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;” (Prov. 2:6 ESV)

 God’s kind of wisdom is different

 “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:27 ESV)

 You’re blessed when you find it

 “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.” (Prov. 3:13-18 ESV)

Therefore

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5 NKJV)

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” (Prov. 18:20 ESV)

 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil.” (Prov. 3:5-7 NKJV)

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Eze. 36:26 NKJV)

Our sins are far removed from us

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NKJV)

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12 NKJV)

 Therefore

“He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19, NKJV)

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20)

Wait, it’s not me!

After he healed a lame beggar (John 3:1-16), Peter said to the amazed crowd: “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see. (See verse 16). Peter understood clearly that he was only a servant of Christ, and the power to heal was only through Jesus’ power as His ambassador.

 We Are His Ambassadors

“Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:14-21)

Therefore

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

“For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.” (Col. 1:16 NLT)

Understanding your purpose

The passage at the top clearly explains that God, the Creator, created everything in heaven and on earth, both seen and unseen, including you and everything you own, “through him and for him.” Understanding this fact will significantly improve your life!

God’s success principle

Because God has created you for His purpose, you will be successful no matter what you put your hands to, by simply putting Him first in everything you do! Jesus stated it clearly in the following verse:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33 NKJV)

A good example of living by faith this way was Hudson Taylor, the faithful missionary and founder of the China Inland Mission. He had nothing when he started but his desire to serve God in China, so he set off to go there by boat on September 19th, 1853, and today there are hundreds of churches across China as a result of his seeking to put God first in everything he did there. When asked how he was able to accomplish so much without any visible means of support, he said, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” And of course, what he said was supported by Philippians 4:19: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Therefore

“Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.” (Eph. 1:11 NLT)

“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9)

What God can do with little offered to Him

Jesus took a little boy’s small lunch of a few loaves and fishes and multiplied them to feed thousands.

“Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there).  Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” (John 6:10-11)

More than enough!

Jesus not only took care of the current need, but there were also baskets of leftovers He didn’t want to go to waste!

“When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.” (John 6:12-13)

Therefore 

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38)

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:8)

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” (2 Cor. 4:8-9 NLT)

As long as you live in this fallen world, troubles will happen from time to time! Jesus said, “In this world, you will have troubles.” But He followed that statement with a wonderful promise: “But take heart, I have overcome the world.”

You can be an overcomer, too!

In the book of Revelation, chapter twelve, there was a great battle between the armies of God and the forces of the devil. The satanic forces were defeated by two things: “by the blood of the Lamb (what Jesus did on the cross) and “by the word of their testimony” (what they proclaimed with their mouths). 

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” (Rev. 12:11)

Therefore

Even though you may have troubles occasionally, God will never abandon you. He will be there to help you with direction and strength. You can live a victorious life and defeat the enemy when he attacks, “by the blood of the lamb and by the word of your testimony.”  Therefore, arm yourself with His wonderful empowering promises and boldly proclaim them in the face of troubles.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:57)

“For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.” (Deut. 29:4)

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13)

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)